Mítiko, the professional name of José Julio Bello Castillo, is a Dominican guitarist, composer and producer born in Santo Domingo in 1987. An original member of the Afro-Caribbean fusion collective «La Gran Mawon», he later co-founded the urban bachata group Los Sufridos. His work as a musician is accompanied by research and public teaching about Afro-Dominican traditions.

La Gran Mawon

His early work included film before he began exploring Afro-Antillean music. In 2011 he took part in night-time jam sessions in Santo Domingo's Colonial Zone that developed into «La Gran Mawon». In a group interview, the collective identified him as its guitarist and a composer. The Dominican publication «Una isla es un universo» named him, Gato and Zahir among its continuing original members and highlighted his writing, particularly on «La Culebra».

The band's music brings together palo, gagá and other Afro-Caribbean rhythms with reggae and rock. Its first single, «Fuego Petró», was recorded in 2013, and a seven-track self-titled EP followed in 2016. The group released «Melancolia Tropical» as a single in 2019 and the album «Radio Katharsis» in 2023. Discussing the band's direction, Mítiko has described its music as Afro-Caribbean and rooted in Black musical traditions.

Los Sufridos

In 2023 he formed Los Sufridos with Cromo X and T.Y.S, bringing his guitar and songwriting experience to an urban bachata project. Dominican reporting identified José Julio Bello among the writers of «Lleno Contigo», the group's 2024 collaboration with Antony Santos. Production credits also name Mítiko on the 2024 singles «Chivi» and «Duro De Verdad pt.2».

Other work and teaching

Outside the two groups, he shared the original music credit with Marcos Arias on the 2020 documentary «Mal de caña». A 2023 release by Billete MC, «Por Ahí», credits José Julio Bello Castillo as producer under the «AFRK Music» label. In February 2024 he joined other «La Gran Mawon» members for an Afro-Dominican music workshop at Rutgers University. The Centro Cultural de España in Santo Domingo also describes him as a sociocultural researcher.

Legacy

Mítiko's work connects guitar performance, composition and production with the study of Afro-Dominican music. His roles in «La Gran Mawon» and Los Sufridos place that experience in distinct contemporary projects, while his film music and teaching extend it beyond recordings and concerts.